(for glassfromscars) Feels Like Magic (When I’m Next to You) [1/2]
For: glassfromscars
Title: Feels Like Magic (When I’m Next to You)
Pairing: Jongin/Suho
Word Count: ~11,000 words
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, gore, torture, minor character death
Summary: Kim Joonmyun, seventh year Water Mage at the Scholomance School of Magic, needs to summon a Familiar - a magical other half - before his graduation exams. The Familiar he summons, however, is not quite what everyone expects.
Author's Note: i tried. my co-author tried too. we tried. and cried. profusely. hopefully we didn’t do too shabby for a 24 hour pinch (◕‿◕✿) again, so sorry if you like bobby. magic away!!!11
“Good luck to you all.”
Professor Lu, Joonmyun’s transfigurations professor, has taken the form of an old man today, and his hands shake as he flicks his staff, sending a pile of papers from his desk flying into the air. Joonmyun sighs as the paper lands in front of his face, on it the professor’s neat ink handwriting detailing all the requirements for the graduation exam.
“For those of you who don’t have a Familiar yet, I encourage you all to see me so we can figure out a date for your Summoning. Of course, it isn’t compulsory, per se, but having a powerful Familiar will greatly help you with your chances of passing the test.”
“He’s talking to you, Joonmyun,” Minseok whispers, nudging Joonmyun in the ribs, and Joonmyun shoots him a look before sighing and turning his attention back to the front.
Indeed, Professor Lu is leveling an even gaze at him, white eyebrows raised and wrinkled forehead even more wrinkled than usual. Joonmyun shoots a nervous smile back, and the professor simply clears his throat before clapping his hands twice, releasing the seal on the doors.
“Class dismissed!”
“We’ve only got one more element rotation until our graduation test, you know,” Minseok says as he walks next to Joonmyun down the corridors and to the dining hall. His Familiar, Yixing, follows happily behind him, humming under his breath. Joonmyun purses his lips. Minseok had summoned Yixing-a Grade Three Metal Sprite-in their fourth year, and the two have been inseparable since. “You should really think about doing your Summoning now, before it’s too late.”
Of course, Minseok’s right. Kim Joonmyun, final year Water Mage and Student Prefect at the Scholomance School of Magic, is possibly the only Mage in his form who doesn’t have a Familiar. And it’s not that Joonmyun doesn’t want a Familiar, just…
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Minseok says as they arrive at the dining hall, dropping his voice. Down below, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Zitao are already seated, their Familiars floating and bickering over their shoulders, and Chanyeol gives the two of them a wave. “That student Prefect Kim Joonmyun, with a stellar academic record, will summon a Yin Daemon.”
Joonmyun sighs, walking down the stairs towards the table, where all the food has just materialised. “Look, just after what happened to my brother-”
“It won’t happen to you,” Minseok says firmly, hand on Joonmyun’s shoulder. “I promise, Joonmyun. They’ve upgraded the Summoning circles, Yin energy can’t leak into them anymore.”
“You don’t know for sure,” Joonmyun says, gritting his teeth, and he’s about to continue when Chanyeol bounds out of his seat to wrap an arm around Joonmyun’s shoulders.
“Why the grim face, Prefect?” Chanyeol says as Joonmyun slides into the empty seat next to him, and Joonmyun plasters a grin on his face.
Above Chanyeol, Baekhyun, his Grade Two Air Faerie, flutters around stealing bites of the roast chicken on the table and perching on the centrepiece decorations. “Probably has issues with premature ejaculation,” Baekhyun says airily, and Joonmyun sends a jet of water up Baekhyun’s nostrils with a twitch of his finger. “Hey! Aw, come on, I was kidding!”
“This is Joonmyun-hyung we’re talking about,” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes and chucking a slice of pumpkin pie up to Jongdae, his Familiar. “I’m pretty sure he’s never slept with anyone apart from his right hand.” Next to Kyungsoo, Zitao’s Familiar, Sehun, is sitting on his lap, picking at the pork roast, giggling as Zitao feeds him a piece, and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Unlike these two. Hey. Hey. This is the dining hall, not your sleeping quarters. Keep it in your pants.”
“Sorry,” Zitao says, not sounding sorry at all. Sehun giggles again before drifting up to play with the other Familiars, and Minseok gives Joonmyun a comforting pat on the shoulder as he starts to rub his temples.
“I’m taking five points off all your houses,” Joonmyun announces, sighing dramatically, and he’s met with a large gust of rather stinky wind to his face. “Ten for you, Byun Baekhyun, don’t think you can get away with it just because you’re a Familiar-”
“Sure sucks to have a stick up your ass,” Baekhyun mutters. Joonmyun throws his hands up in the air in despair. Is this rudeass punk what Chanyeol has to put up with 24/7? “Which makes no sense, considering your attitude is tighter than your anal sphincter. Hey, Chanyeol, can you summon a stick for me?”
“Sure, Baek. What kind? A cheesestick? Sausage stick? Or something bigger. Okinawa bittermelon? How about a horse di-”
Joonmyun smacks Chanyeol in the face before he can finish that sentence. God. This is like trying to babysit wayward children, except they could probably blow your head off with element magic if they tried hard enough. Joonmyun quite clearly remembers that time Byun Baekhyun had gotten a little too punch-happy and blasted the heads (and dicks) off all the antique statues in the ceremonial hall, and he very much does not want a replay of that, Thank You Very Much.
Forget it. Joonmyun chews sourly at his eggplant saute as he watches them bicker. There’s no way he’s getting a Familiar.
Okay.
Joonmyun usually keeps his word. He keeps all his promises, remembers all his debts, washes underneath his foreskin, and pays thanks to all the professors during the festive seasons, yadda yadda, but-
“God damn it, Park Chanyeol,” Joonmyun curses under his breath.
This morning-or dawn, rather, before Joonmyun was even humanly conscious-Park Chanyeol had burst into his room and dragged him out, saying it was something urgent that needed the attention of a Prefect. Well, Park Chanyeol’s pants should be on fire, because right now, Kim Joonmyun is standing in the middle of the summoning circle, Professor Lu muttering the incantation to seal in the circle.
“Minseok-hyung told me what happened,” Chanyeol had explained sheepishly, when they’d arrived at the summoning room and Joonmyun had finally realised what on God’s green earth was going on. “Hyung, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you wanted-needed-a Familiar so much, you’re just so powerful, but I guess even the best of the Mages need help sometimes, huh?”
“You piece of sh-” Joonmyun had started, before regaining his composure. It would be fine. He could just explain to the professor that this was all a mix-up, and he wouldn’t have to summon anything.
Nuh-uh.
Professor Lu, today in the form of a stunning blonde woman with Quite An Ample Bust, had enthusiastically pushed Joonmyun to the middle of the summoning circle, gushing about how he was so glad to see Joonmyun finally taking a step forward, how it was so great he was recovering after The Incident, and not to worry because the spells have all been upgraded and now the summoning process is safer than ever!
So.
“Concentrate, Joonmyun,” Professor Lu says, in velvety, dulcet tones. The hemisphere barrier surrounding Joonmyun crackles, white flecks of Yang energy sparking like firecrackers. Joonmyun closes his eyes, mustering up all the Yang inside him, sending it to the pentagonal symbol engraved right below his feet, drawing up the image of the purest Faerie he can in his mind’s eye, begging that whatever he summons will be nice, will be good, will be tame enough not to wreak havoc upon Scholomance, will behave enough not to get him banished-
There’s a loud crack, a boom, and Joonmyun’s eyes fly open to see…
A human.
Or at least, whatever form this magical creature has taken, it looks like a human-a rather handsome boy, at that. A rush of relief runs through Joonmyun, and he steps closer, bending over to get a better look, and his Familiar coughs, rolling over onto his back.
The protective barrier fizzles out, and Professor Lu steps into the circle, frowning. “Joonmyun, are you sure you were concentrating on the right spell?” he asks, and Joonmyun nods. “Show me your wrist.”
Joonmyun raises his arm, and sure enough, there’s a glowing symbol carved into Joonmyun’s wrist, a tear-shaped droplet inside a triangle-the same symbol that’s on the boy’s wrist.
The symbol of their Mage-Familiar bond.
The boy stands, looking up at the professor, and then Joonmyun with wide eyes. “Who are you? Did you summon me?”
Well, there’s no going back from this. Once the bond has been made, the Familiar is bound to the Mage for life. “I’m Kim Joonmyun, your Mage,” Joonmyun says, extending a hand. The boy eyes it warily, before taking it, and a wave of Earth magic whooshes through Joonmyun’s body, flooding him with images. “And you’re Kim Jongin. Grade Five Earth Faerie.”
“Grade Five?” Professor Lu asks, eyebrows knitting together. He folds his arms in front of his bosom. “Joonmyun, you could’ve summoned a Grade One with your abilities, were you holding back?”
“Maybe,” Joonmyun says, forcing a smile on his face. “But it’s over, it’s done now. Thanks, Professor, I’ll-I’ll take my leave now. Go get acquainted with, uh, with Jongin here.”
“Okay,” Professor Lu says, slowly, flicking his luscious hair over his shoulder and picking up his staff. “Let me know if you need anything, Joonmyun. You’re one of the best apprentices I’ve had, and I’m always here to help.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Grade One, huh,” Jongin says softly, when the professor leaves the summoning room. He rubs at the mark on his wrist, where the symbol’s engraved, shimmering in the darkness, and looks up at Joonmyun sheepishly. “And yet, you’re stuck with a Grade Five like me.”
“It’s-” Joonmyun shakes his head, smiling at Jongin and taking Jongin’s hands in his. Up close, Joonmyun can really see his features-smooth, golden skin, sharp jawline, head of straight black hair. Normally, Faerie Familiars appear to be floating beside their Mages, once they’ve mastered the powers of their wings, but it seems like Jongin’s not at that stage yet, standing sturdy on two feet. “It’s not a big deal. You’re my Familiar now, and I’m going to take care of you.”
“Okay,” Jongin says, blinking up at Joonmyun. He shuffles on his feet, adjusting his Faerie attire, a simple, translucent gown gathered at the waist with a piece of twine, over a billowy loincloth. Joonmyun can see Jongin’s body through the gown, nicely toned and rather built-at least, for a Faerie. “Okay, master.”
Joonmyun laughs quietly, ruffling Jongin’s hair, and Jongin flushes ever so slightly. “You can call me hyung.”
“Hyung,” Jongin tries, the unfamiliar word stumbling over his tongue. “Joonmyun-hyung. I like that.”
“I can’t believe you summoned a Faerie,” Chanyeol crows the next day, when they’re all on lunch break. “I brought you there so you could summon a Grade One Daemon or something, not a…” Chanyeol waves his arms in the air as Baekhyun blows the wettest raspberry Joonmyun has ever heard right into his ear canal. “Okay, okay, I take that back, Faeries are great, ten out of ten, would bang again.”
They’re sitting by the old elm tree in the school quadrangle-Baekhyun flitting around amongst the leaves and throwing elm seeds at Jongdae, who’s retaliating with the same fervour whilst shouting something about inseminating Baekhyun with tree sperm. Yixing’s sitting with his back to Minseok, eyes closed as he takes a nap. Sehun is seated firmly in his usual throne of Zitao thigh, Zitao’s arms wrapped around his waist.
And Jongin… well, Jongin’s currently hiding behind Joonmyun, trying to make himself seem as small as possible-a difficult feat, considering he’s approximately a head taller and much, much broader than Joonmyun.
“The most important thing is,” Minseok says, waving chopsticks in the air, “Joonmyun now has a Familiar for his graduation exam. This is good news!”
“No thanks to you guys,” Joonmyun mutters, glaring daggers at Minseok and Chanyeol in turn. “I can’t believe you set up that Summoning. Without my knowledge. You know that’s a violation of the Scholomance Code of Conduct, right? I could deduct so many points-”
“Points, schmoints,” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes. “You say you’re going to do all that but really, you’re too soft on them, hyung. I knew Chanyeol was up to no good when he was whispering and giggling in the common rooms that night. At first I thought he and Baekhyun were having kinky, indecent sex. Either way I should’ve put a hex on him.”
“I was doing him a favour,” Chanyeol protests, and Baekhyun nods, throwing an elm seed at Kyungsoo, who closes his eyes, pointing at Baekhyun. There’s a flash of green and Baekhyun yelps, suddenly bound to the tree by tendrils of ivy vine.
Joonmyun closes his eyes. To be completely honest, having a Familiar… isn’t as bad as he’d thought it’d be. Jongin had followed him around all of yesterday afternoon, marvelling at the architecture of the old study rooms, nodding furtively when Joonmyun explained to him the history behind Scholomance, the theory of the Five Energies, and taken him to the library to look up some books on the Mage-Familiar bond. Jongin, it seems, enjoys the quiet, and likes reading almost as much as Joonmyun does, a remarkable feat considering Baekhyun probably hasn’t been within a foot of a book in his miserable Faerie life.
“Earth Faerie, is he?” Baekhyun asks, struggling free from Kyungsoo’s vine prison and floating down behind Jongin, who knocks into Joonmyun, then gives a short apology as Baekhyun observes him with a toothy grin. “Hey, Jongin, let’s have a play spar!”
“Hey, hey,” Joonmyun says, slightly alarmed, and a little uneasy. Jongin leans in to him, and Joonmyun gulps as he feels Jongin’s warm skin pressing against his back. “Jongin hasn’t trained with me before. Even I haven’t seen his powers.”
“Then this is the perfect opportunity,” Minseok says, giving Joonmyun an encouraging smile. “It’ll be fine. Yixing, Jongdae, and Sehun can set up a protective barrier. One round only, okay, Baekhyun?”
“Aw, yeah!” Baekhyun trills, pulling Jongin up by the scruff of his gown, and Jongin yelps as he stumbles backwards into the clearing, landing on his butt in the middle of the triangular barrier, which now buzzes with a purple light. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Hyung?” Jongin says, panicked, looking in Joonmyun’s direction. “Hyung, wh-what do I do?”
Joonmyun sighs. “Do you know how to cast spells?”
Jongin wrings his hands together. “Um, simple ones, I guess? I-I never managed to do anything beyond Basics I, though.”
“Just… see how you go, I guess,” Joonmyun says, standing up, walking until he’s right next to the barrier. “Fighting!”
Long story short, Jongin gets his ass fucking thrashed.
“I’m sorry,” Jongin says, biting his lower lip. He’s lying on the infirmary bed, cuts and scratches all over his arms and legs, a huge bruise on his chest from Baekhyun’s concentrated cyclone attack. When Jongin had said he only knew the basics, he really meant it-Jongin couldn’t even take a defensive spirit form to dodge the material attacks. Two shots from Baekhyun, and he was down. “I’m sorry, hyung, I tried, but I couldn’t even land one hit on him-”
“Shush,” Joonmyun says, shaking his head and taking Jongin’s hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You tried your best, and it’s early days yet. It’ll all come in good time. And plus,” Joonmyun finishes, grinning and puffing out his chest. “You’ve got one of the best Water Mages at Scholomance to help you through it.”
“Really?” Jongin says weakly, gazing up at Joonmyun with hopeful eyes. “You’ll help you me train?”
“Really,” Joonmyun says, voice laden with more conviction than he has. Jongin breaks into a brilliant smile. “I’ve got some free time tomorrow, after my Advanced Yin Energy Handling class. We can do some practise then.”
Jongin nods, a sweet smile gracing his lips, before coughing so hard he almost hacks out a lung. “It’s a date.”
“Ha,” Joonmyun agrees weakly. “Indeed.”
The rumours of Joonmyun’s summoning have spread so far that, by the next day, Joonmyun steps into the dining hall in his Prefectural robes for breakfast only to have all eyes turn to him.
“Joonmyun-sunbaenim,” a kid from second form-Jimin, was it?-says, greeting Joonmyun with a bow. Behind him, two Familiars are hovering, one looking surly, and one with a falsely innocent, inquisitive expression on his face. “Congratulations on your summoning.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Joonmyun says, making his way down the steps. Damn it. This kind of attention isn’t what he needs-too many eyes on him, too many whispers behind his back. It throws him back to the turbulence of first form, when everyone had focused their attention on him, Kim Joonmyun, the Younger Brother, spreading malicious rumours about how he was sure to follow in his brother’s footsteps as well. It hadn’t been until the new professor, Professor Lu, had come to Scholomance and taken Joonmyun under his wing that the speculation had finally stopped and Joonmyun was able to find some calm in his life again.
“So I hear your Familiar got his ass kicked by Baekhyun.” A Prefect from another house, Bobby, if Joonmyun’s memory serves right, stops Joonmyun in his tracks, leaning on the handrail of the stairs. Behind him, Bobby’s Familiar stretches, cracking his knuckles, and Joonmyun heaves a sigh. Not this again. “Grade Five? You bring shame to the title of Prefect.”
“Look, Bobby,” Joonmyun says, trying to sidestep him, but Bobby just slides so Joonmyun’s path is blocked again. “I don’t want to start a fight. Grade One or Grade Five, they’re all the same Familiars.”
“Oh, but you’re such a hot topic,” Bobby says, smirking, before putting his hands up in mock surrender and letting Joonmyun past. “I’ll cut you some slack today. Your Familiar would probably keel over at Hanbin’s breathing alone.”
“That wasn’t very hiphop of him,” Kyungsoo mutters when Joonmyun settles in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. “Hey, hyung, don’t worry about it. He’ll get what’s coming.”
“Yeah,” Minseok says, patting Joonmyun on the back. “It’ll be fine. You’ll train Jongin up in no time and then you can kick his ass.”
By the time Joonmyun finishes his last class of the day, he’s exhausted and almost bursting with irritation at the amount of people who have expressed surprise that his Familiar was ‘only a Grade Five’. They mean well, Joonmyun knows. It’s a compliment to his magic abilities that everyone expected him to summon a Grade One, but also, how would Jongin feel if he heard the harsh words coming out of everyone’s mouths?
Yes, Grade Five was the lowest class of summon there was. Yes, Grade Fives were predominantly only temporary summons, used as bait or traps for high-class battles. They were the invisible creatures of their world. But it doesn’t mean they’re useless. Their sacrifice is what saves the battle, and to Joonmyun, that makes them stronger than anyone else.
“Hey,” Joonmyun says as he helps Jongin sit up at the infirmary. “You feeling better? Ready to train?”
Jongin rubs his eyes sleepily. “Hey, hyung,” he mumbles, breaking into a smile. Joonmyun smiles back, heart slightly eased by Jongin’s presence. The symbol on his wrist shimmers a little brighter. “Let’s go train.”
Joonmyun ends up carrying a passed-out Jongin back to the infirmary not even an hour later.
“What happened?” the nurse asks, waving a blue staff over Jongin’s body, then setting him down on the bed. “He should’ve been all recovered.”
“He was,” Joonmyun explains, rubbing his temples. “But then…”
So maybe Basics II is still a little too advanced for Jongin to handle. Joonmyun had taken Jongin out to the training fields so Jongin could fully unleash his Earth powers, try out an earthbuilding spell, and it’d been going well. Jongin had managed to get the mound of dirt to gather into something that looked like a molehill, but then he’d promptly passed out, and that was the end of that.
“In any case, it doesn’t look like he’s coming to,” the nurse muses. “Joonmyun-sshi, visiting hours are over, so you should head back to the dorms. Come back in the morning and I’m sure he’ll be all recovered again.”
Joonmyun rushes to the infirmary bright and early next morning to be greeted by Kim Jongin’s sheepish smile.
“Hey, hyung,” Jongin says, giving Joonmyun a wave. “Guess last night didn’t go too well, huh?”
Joonmyun gives him a pat on the head as the nurse gives them a scandalised stare. “It’s alright. We’ll try it again tonight.”
They try again, and again, and again.
Day three. Joonmyun takes Jongin back to Basics I. The dirt gathers in a mound. Jongin faints. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
Day five. Jongin’s convinced he can attempt a higher level spell. Joonmyun has him try to gather the leaves of the elm tree with his magical powers. A couple of leaves rustle off the branches and pile themselves up at Joonmyun’s feet before Jongin’s eyes roll back into his head and he faints again. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
Day ten. Well… Joonmyun guesses this is better than any of Jongin’s attempts so far. The earth kind of holds together in a spherical shape. Kind of. For about three seconds. Then it collapses, and Jongin collapses with it, yet again. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
“Hyung,” Jongin says, when Joonmyun comes to fetch him for the umpteenth time. The nurse doesn’t even bother greeting Joonmyun anymore, just waves him in with a grunt-he and Jongin come here so often that this is practically their second home. “Hyung, more training tonight? I can do it, I know I can-”
“Jongin,” Joonmyun starts, gently. Jongin falters, bright expression drooping, as if he can anticipate what’s coming next. “Jongin, I think we should take a break from training. Just-just until I can think of a better approach, hmm?”
“I’m sorry,” Jongin says, after a long silence. He hangs his head, sliding his hand out of Joonmyun’s hand, wringing them together. “Sorry, hyung, I just wanted to get better. Get them to stop saying all the stuff they’ve been saying about you, and about me. I guess-guess I was a failure, huh?”
Joonmyun’s heart lodges in his throat. No. So Jongin had been listening to all the rumours flying about.
He should do something. Take Jongin’s hands in his. Reassure him that nothing’s his fault, that everything will be okay, that Joonmyun doesn’t care, and fuck what anybody else thinks, Jongin is his Familiar, damn it, but his whole body freezes when the tears spill out of Jongin’s eyes, glittery and golden, staining the bedding with pretty patterns.
“It’s…” Joonmyun swallows. He pats Jongin’s back awkwardly, chewing his lower lip. “It’s been a long day, Jongin-ah. Don’t-don’t worry about what they say. Get some rest. I’ll see in you in the morning, hmm?”
Joonmyun turns and walks out of the infirmary, heart sinking in his chest.
Zitao is indignant.
“You just left him there?”
Joonmyun nods, bile rising in his throat. He’s sitting in the house common room, next to the roaring fireplace in his argyle-knit sweater-winter had come early this year, with fierce gales and a horrendous blizzard that had turned the school into a white maze overnight-while Zitao’s curled up in the seat opposite, Sehun perched on his shoulder, and Minseok’s scampering around in the back with Yixing, tidying up the mess Chanyeol had left last night.
“Hyung, I know you’re not used to having a Familiar, and you’re used to being alone, but you really shouldn’t be leaving him alone for so many hours a day. Especially when he’s upset.” Joonmyun hangs his head. He knows he’s hitting all-time lows if spirit Wonder Bread Sehun is chastising him.
“I know, I know, I just-” Joonmyun makes a noise of frustration and casts his gaze to Zitao and Sehun. They look so comfortable next to each other, sitting like that. Honestly, Joonmyun’s never seen Zitao without Sehun hanging around him, either in his spirit form or playing around on the training fields in material form. Sometimes, Joonmyun wonders if they even have to talk to each other to communicate, because they just seem to understand each other so instinctively, so naturally. That’s how strong their bond is, and Joonmyun would be lying if he said he wasn’t envious. “How did you two become so close?”
“Lots of buttsex,” Sehun deadpans, and Joonmyun chokes on his spit.
“Yes, well, that.” Zitao shrugs, looking up at Sehun. “But also, I never trained with him so intensively. I think we just hung out a lot. Took him to my classes and to the dining hall and out to the village on our days off.”
“Also,” Minseok says, coming up to lean on the back of Joonmyun’s seat, “you have to remember, a Familiar is only as powerful as their Mage’s belief.” Minseok turns, giving Yixing a grin, and Yixing grins back, both thumbs up in approval. “Spend some time together with Jongin doing stuff that isn’t training. Strengthen your bond. And then it’ll come, before you know it.”
‘Stuff that isn’t training’, in Kim Joonmyun’s language, equates to either studying in the library, monitoring the hallways, or organising all the junk in his storage locker by colour. Sometimes if he’s really, really bored, he’ll clean his bellybutton lint. Joonmyun thinks harder as he pulls open the door to his locker, staring hard at the leather cover of All You Need To Know About Crocheting. Surely, he can think of something interesting to do with Jongin, to get Jongin’s mood up.
Element golf? Spells scrabble? Quill sharpening?
Realisation dawns upon Joonmyun, and he slams his locker door shut. Magic aside, he’s about as interesting as a rock. A very powerful rock, but still a rock.
“Heya, Prefect,” Chanyeol says, smacking Joonmyun on the butt as he walks past Joonmyun in the lockers, and Joonmyun lets out an indignant yelp before frowning at Chanyeol. Chanyeol tilts his head. “Huh. Where’s Jongin?”
“Infirmary,” Joonmyun mutters, and Baekhyun lets out a little bark of laughter before clapping his delicate Faerie hands over his mouth. “Passed out during training.”
“Like master, like Familiar.” Chanyeol waggles his index finger. “Too much training’s bad, you know. Wears out your Familiar’s Yang energy. And that’s why,” Chanyeol continues, grin on his face. “You need to recharge.”
Before Joonmyun can say anything, Chanyeol loops his arms through Joonmyun’s and pulls him away from the locker. “I heard everything from Zitao. Baekhyun and I are heading to the village later, gonna go grab some energy capsules and see if I can upgrade to a dragon-claw fire staff. Maybe grab some truth candy too. You wanna come along with Jongin?”
“Yeah,” Joonmyun says, taking Chanyeol’s arm and placing it back by Chanyeol’s side, dusting off his robes. “I guess it won’t hurt.”
Jongin’s still lying in the infirmary bed by the time Joonmyun gets there, shuffling nervously on his feet. “Hey,” Joonmyun says, letting out a long breath. “How are you feeling? Better?”
Jongin grins up at Joonmyun. “Now that you’re here,” he says, and a pang of guilt hits Joonmyun.
“I’m sorry about the other day,” Joonmyun says, sitting by Jongin’s side. He worries his lower lip. “I didn’t mean that I’d, I’d given up or anything, you’re my Familiar and I haven’t been treating you right, you know? I put too much pressure on you, especially with what everyone was saying, and I should’ve… I guess I should’ve tried to understand you a little more.”
Jongin’s gazing up at Joonmyun now, eyebrows knitted together in surprised confusion.
“What I’m saying is,” Joonmyun tries to finish off, to stop himself from rambling, “I shouldn’t have made you train so hard. And I’m sorry.”
There’s a kerfuffle, and next thing Joonmyun knows, Jongin’s arms are wrapped around his chest, Jongin’s face buried into the crook of his shoulder, the force almost knocking Joonmyun out of his seat, and he lets out a breathless laugh. They stay like that, Jongin warm in Joonmyun’s arms, Joonmyun patting Jongin’s back, until Jongin pulls away, looking up at Joonmyun with expectant eyes.
“So… No training today?”
“No training today.”
“What do you have planned?”
“Well,” Joonmyun says, grinning. “It’s my day off, and Chanyeol invited me to the village this morning. What say you we head out of the school grounds today?”
Bundled up in Joonmyun’s beanie and scarf and wrapped in one of Joonmyun’s extra-large coats, Jongin looks a little bit like a walking marshmallow.
“I don’t know why you’re in that hideous thing,” Baekhyun says, floating above Jongin’s head and scoffling. They’re walking down the main street of the village, and all the shops have their winter glowlights out, the store pixies and elves out in the streets trying to lure the students into the shops. “You’re waddling like a penguin. Familiars aren’t even meant to feel the cold.”
“Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says pleasantly, turning to Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks away from the shop display of dragon pelts and blinks at Joonmyun. “Tell your brat of a Familiar to stay in his lane and stop harassing my Jongin.”
“Uh.” Chanyeol gives Joonmyun the longest stare. “Wait, say that again?”
“Uh,” Joonmyun says, knitting his eyebrows together. “Can you… Make Baekhyun stop teasing Jongin?”
“No, no,” Chanyeol says, waving his mittened hands in front of his face. His lips quirk up into a devilish grin. “You said my. My Jongin.”
Joonmyun feels a flush heating up his cheeks as Jongin turns to look at him. “Yeah, he’s… My Familiar, right? Yeah. My Familiar, Jongin. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Chanyeol singsongs, giving Joonmyun a gentle shove so that he falls into Jongin’s side, having to grab onto Jongin’s arm to regain his balance. “I’m just, um, gonna go check if my staff’s done, y’know, gotta pick it up. You two have fun!” With a flick of his wand, Chanyeol conjures up a flaming carpet, then hops on.
“Yeah, you two, have fun. Hey, Joonmyun, suggestion, take him to the Faerie store.” Baekhyun’s perched on Chanyeol’s shoulder, and he shoots the both of them a wicked grin before Chanyeol’s off, zooming away into the distance.
“Well,” Joonmyun starts awkwardly, brushing the show off his coat. He extends a gloved hand, and Jongin hesitates for a moment before grinning and sliding his hand in Joonmyun’s. “To the Faerie store?”
The lights and decorations inside the shop is something Joonmyun, in his seven years of being a Mage, has never seen before. Granted, it’s the first time he’s ever set foot inside this particular store, but all the same, it’s a breathtaking sight. Dreamcatchers, potions, energy holders, herbal remedies of shapes and sizes are spread throughout the store, divided by energy type. Jongin runs straight to the Earth section, like an excited puppy seeing snow for the first time, marvelling over the divination equipment and ginseng roots and wooden summon totems.
“Do you like that?” Joonmyun says, sidling up to Jongin. Jongin jumps a little, running his fingers over a wooden pendant, thin leather straps wound through the hole. “It’s a power pendant. It’s meant to draw Earth spirit from your surroundings and transfer it to your inner energy source.”
“Do you think it’ll help? I mean, help me get stronger?” Jongin asks, thumb tracing over the intricate design, and Joonmyun laughs.
“Well, they’re only superstitious beliefs. All the actually strong stuff is back inside the school grounds, locked away in staff-only storage. The stuff they sell in the village, apart from the medicinal ingredients and weapons, are mostly for display.”
“Oh.” Jongin looks a little crestfallen. “Okay. I guess it won’t be any use, then.”
“Come here.” Joonmyun takes the pendant from Jongin’s hands, then undoes the twine, reaching around Jongin’s neck and fastening it into a knot at the back. “There. Looks good on you.”
Jongin looks down at the triangle hanging from his neck, fingertips tracing over the surface. “Really? You’ll get it for me?”
Joonmyun sets both hands on Jongin’s shoulders. “Anything you like, I’ll get for you. You’re my Familiar, Jongin. Your happiness is my happiness.”
The walk back to school grounds is quiet, but comfortable. Jongin’s almost skipping beside Joonmyun, one hand in Joonmyun’s, one hand still on the pendant, admiring it.
“Well,” Joonmyun says, when they finally arrive in front of the dorm building, “that was fun.”
“It was,” Jongin says, grinning up at Joonmyun. “Take me again when you’re free.”
“Yeah.” The snow’s picking up again, grey clouds coming in from the east, and it looks like there might be another snowstorm soon. “Let’s head back to the dorms. I haven’t taken you to mine yet, have I?” Jongin shakes his head, and Joonmyun smiles. “I’ll show you today. Make a space for a spare bed in my room so you can sleep next to me.”
“Really?” Jongin’s eyes are wide, and he can barely contain his excitement. “You’ll do that for me?”
There’s a hot flash on Joonmyun’s wrist, and he winces, raising his arm to inspect it, before Jongin’s voice rings out.
“Hyung,” Jongin says, mouth agape. He’s staring at the ground in front of himself, holding his wrist where the Mage-Familiar symbol is burned into his skin. “Hyung, look!”
In front of Jongin is a perfect little blossom, a sproutling reaching its way out of the snowy earth and to the sun. Joonmyun watches in awe as the sproutling grows, grows bigger and bigger, until it’s a full-sized cherry blossom tree, shedding pink petals in the wintry air like confetti.
“You did it,” Joonmyun breathes, and before he knows it, he’s gathered Jongin into his arms in a warm hug. Jongin lets out a yelp of surprise before settling into Joonmyun’s arms. “Jongin, you did it!”
“I guess I did, huh?” Jongin says, voice muffled by Joonmyun’s puffy jacket, and Joonmyun just laughs giddily in response.
part two
Title: Feels Like Magic (When I’m Next to You)
Pairing: Jongin/Suho
Word Count: ~11,000 words
Rating: R
Warnings: violence, gore, torture, minor character death
Summary: Kim Joonmyun, seventh year Water Mage at the Scholomance School of Magic, needs to summon a Familiar - a magical other half - before his graduation exams. The Familiar he summons, however, is not quite what everyone expects.
Author's Note: i tried. my co-author tried too. we tried. and cried. profusely. hopefully we didn’t do too shabby for a 24 hour pinch (◕‿◕✿) again, so sorry if you like bobby. magic away!!!11
“Good luck to you all.”
Professor Lu, Joonmyun’s transfigurations professor, has taken the form of an old man today, and his hands shake as he flicks his staff, sending a pile of papers from his desk flying into the air. Joonmyun sighs as the paper lands in front of his face, on it the professor’s neat ink handwriting detailing all the requirements for the graduation exam.
“For those of you who don’t have a Familiar yet, I encourage you all to see me so we can figure out a date for your Summoning. Of course, it isn’t compulsory, per se, but having a powerful Familiar will greatly help you with your chances of passing the test.”
“He’s talking to you, Joonmyun,” Minseok whispers, nudging Joonmyun in the ribs, and Joonmyun shoots him a look before sighing and turning his attention back to the front.
Indeed, Professor Lu is leveling an even gaze at him, white eyebrows raised and wrinkled forehead even more wrinkled than usual. Joonmyun shoots a nervous smile back, and the professor simply clears his throat before clapping his hands twice, releasing the seal on the doors.
“Class dismissed!”
“We’ve only got one more element rotation until our graduation test, you know,” Minseok says as he walks next to Joonmyun down the corridors and to the dining hall. His Familiar, Yixing, follows happily behind him, humming under his breath. Joonmyun purses his lips. Minseok had summoned Yixing-a Grade Three Metal Sprite-in their fourth year, and the two have been inseparable since. “You should really think about doing your Summoning now, before it’s too late.”
Of course, Minseok’s right. Kim Joonmyun, final year Water Mage and Student Prefect at the Scholomance School of Magic, is possibly the only Mage in his form who doesn’t have a Familiar. And it’s not that Joonmyun doesn’t want a Familiar, just…
“You’re scared, aren’t you?” Minseok says as they arrive at the dining hall, dropping his voice. Down below, Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Zitao are already seated, their Familiars floating and bickering over their shoulders, and Chanyeol gives the two of them a wave. “That student Prefect Kim Joonmyun, with a stellar academic record, will summon a Yin Daemon.”
Joonmyun sighs, walking down the stairs towards the table, where all the food has just materialised. “Look, just after what happened to my brother-”
“It won’t happen to you,” Minseok says firmly, hand on Joonmyun’s shoulder. “I promise, Joonmyun. They’ve upgraded the Summoning circles, Yin energy can’t leak into them anymore.”
“You don’t know for sure,” Joonmyun says, gritting his teeth, and he’s about to continue when Chanyeol bounds out of his seat to wrap an arm around Joonmyun’s shoulders.
“Why the grim face, Prefect?” Chanyeol says as Joonmyun slides into the empty seat next to him, and Joonmyun plasters a grin on his face.
Above Chanyeol, Baekhyun, his Grade Two Air Faerie, flutters around stealing bites of the roast chicken on the table and perching on the centrepiece decorations. “Probably has issues with premature ejaculation,” Baekhyun says airily, and Joonmyun sends a jet of water up Baekhyun’s nostrils with a twitch of his finger. “Hey! Aw, come on, I was kidding!”
“This is Joonmyun-hyung we’re talking about,” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes and chucking a slice of pumpkin pie up to Jongdae, his Familiar. “I’m pretty sure he’s never slept with anyone apart from his right hand.” Next to Kyungsoo, Zitao’s Familiar, Sehun, is sitting on his lap, picking at the pork roast, giggling as Zitao feeds him a piece, and Kyungsoo rolls his eyes. “Unlike these two. Hey. Hey. This is the dining hall, not your sleeping quarters. Keep it in your pants.”
“Sorry,” Zitao says, not sounding sorry at all. Sehun giggles again before drifting up to play with the other Familiars, and Minseok gives Joonmyun a comforting pat on the shoulder as he starts to rub his temples.
“I’m taking five points off all your houses,” Joonmyun announces, sighing dramatically, and he’s met with a large gust of rather stinky wind to his face. “Ten for you, Byun Baekhyun, don’t think you can get away with it just because you’re a Familiar-”
“Sure sucks to have a stick up your ass,” Baekhyun mutters. Joonmyun throws his hands up in the air in despair. Is this rudeass punk what Chanyeol has to put up with 24/7? “Which makes no sense, considering your attitude is tighter than your anal sphincter. Hey, Chanyeol, can you summon a stick for me?”
“Sure, Baek. What kind? A cheesestick? Sausage stick? Or something bigger. Okinawa bittermelon? How about a horse di-”
Joonmyun smacks Chanyeol in the face before he can finish that sentence. God. This is like trying to babysit wayward children, except they could probably blow your head off with element magic if they tried hard enough. Joonmyun quite clearly remembers that time Byun Baekhyun had gotten a little too punch-happy and blasted the heads (and dicks) off all the antique statues in the ceremonial hall, and he very much does not want a replay of that, Thank You Very Much.
Forget it. Joonmyun chews sourly at his eggplant saute as he watches them bicker. There’s no way he’s getting a Familiar.
Okay.
Joonmyun usually keeps his word. He keeps all his promises, remembers all his debts, washes underneath his foreskin, and pays thanks to all the professors during the festive seasons, yadda yadda, but-
“God damn it, Park Chanyeol,” Joonmyun curses under his breath.
This morning-or dawn, rather, before Joonmyun was even humanly conscious-Park Chanyeol had burst into his room and dragged him out, saying it was something urgent that needed the attention of a Prefect. Well, Park Chanyeol’s pants should be on fire, because right now, Kim Joonmyun is standing in the middle of the summoning circle, Professor Lu muttering the incantation to seal in the circle.
“Minseok-hyung told me what happened,” Chanyeol had explained sheepishly, when they’d arrived at the summoning room and Joonmyun had finally realised what on God’s green earth was going on. “Hyung, I’m sorry, I didn’t realise you wanted-needed-a Familiar so much, you’re just so powerful, but I guess even the best of the Mages need help sometimes, huh?”
“You piece of sh-” Joonmyun had started, before regaining his composure. It would be fine. He could just explain to the professor that this was all a mix-up, and he wouldn’t have to summon anything.
Nuh-uh.
Professor Lu, today in the form of a stunning blonde woman with Quite An Ample Bust, had enthusiastically pushed Joonmyun to the middle of the summoning circle, gushing about how he was so glad to see Joonmyun finally taking a step forward, how it was so great he was recovering after The Incident, and not to worry because the spells have all been upgraded and now the summoning process is safer than ever!
So.
“Concentrate, Joonmyun,” Professor Lu says, in velvety, dulcet tones. The hemisphere barrier surrounding Joonmyun crackles, white flecks of Yang energy sparking like firecrackers. Joonmyun closes his eyes, mustering up all the Yang inside him, sending it to the pentagonal symbol engraved right below his feet, drawing up the image of the purest Faerie he can in his mind’s eye, begging that whatever he summons will be nice, will be good, will be tame enough not to wreak havoc upon Scholomance, will behave enough not to get him banished-
There’s a loud crack, a boom, and Joonmyun’s eyes fly open to see…
A human.
Or at least, whatever form this magical creature has taken, it looks like a human-a rather handsome boy, at that. A rush of relief runs through Joonmyun, and he steps closer, bending over to get a better look, and his Familiar coughs, rolling over onto his back.
The protective barrier fizzles out, and Professor Lu steps into the circle, frowning. “Joonmyun, are you sure you were concentrating on the right spell?” he asks, and Joonmyun nods. “Show me your wrist.”
Joonmyun raises his arm, and sure enough, there’s a glowing symbol carved into Joonmyun’s wrist, a tear-shaped droplet inside a triangle-the same symbol that’s on the boy’s wrist.
The symbol of their Mage-Familiar bond.
The boy stands, looking up at the professor, and then Joonmyun with wide eyes. “Who are you? Did you summon me?”
Well, there’s no going back from this. Once the bond has been made, the Familiar is bound to the Mage for life. “I’m Kim Joonmyun, your Mage,” Joonmyun says, extending a hand. The boy eyes it warily, before taking it, and a wave of Earth magic whooshes through Joonmyun’s body, flooding him with images. “And you’re Kim Jongin. Grade Five Earth Faerie.”
“Grade Five?” Professor Lu asks, eyebrows knitting together. He folds his arms in front of his bosom. “Joonmyun, you could’ve summoned a Grade One with your abilities, were you holding back?”
“Maybe,” Joonmyun says, forcing a smile on his face. “But it’s over, it’s done now. Thanks, Professor, I’ll-I’ll take my leave now. Go get acquainted with, uh, with Jongin here.”
“Okay,” Professor Lu says, slowly, flicking his luscious hair over his shoulder and picking up his staff. “Let me know if you need anything, Joonmyun. You’re one of the best apprentices I’ve had, and I’m always here to help.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Grade One, huh,” Jongin says softly, when the professor leaves the summoning room. He rubs at the mark on his wrist, where the symbol’s engraved, shimmering in the darkness, and looks up at Joonmyun sheepishly. “And yet, you’re stuck with a Grade Five like me.”
“It’s-” Joonmyun shakes his head, smiling at Jongin and taking Jongin’s hands in his. Up close, Joonmyun can really see his features-smooth, golden skin, sharp jawline, head of straight black hair. Normally, Faerie Familiars appear to be floating beside their Mages, once they’ve mastered the powers of their wings, but it seems like Jongin’s not at that stage yet, standing sturdy on two feet. “It’s not a big deal. You’re my Familiar now, and I’m going to take care of you.”
“Okay,” Jongin says, blinking up at Joonmyun. He shuffles on his feet, adjusting his Faerie attire, a simple, translucent gown gathered at the waist with a piece of twine, over a billowy loincloth. Joonmyun can see Jongin’s body through the gown, nicely toned and rather built-at least, for a Faerie. “Okay, master.”
Joonmyun laughs quietly, ruffling Jongin’s hair, and Jongin flushes ever so slightly. “You can call me hyung.”
“Hyung,” Jongin tries, the unfamiliar word stumbling over his tongue. “Joonmyun-hyung. I like that.”
“I can’t believe you summoned a Faerie,” Chanyeol crows the next day, when they’re all on lunch break. “I brought you there so you could summon a Grade One Daemon or something, not a…” Chanyeol waves his arms in the air as Baekhyun blows the wettest raspberry Joonmyun has ever heard right into his ear canal. “Okay, okay, I take that back, Faeries are great, ten out of ten, would bang again.”
They’re sitting by the old elm tree in the school quadrangle-Baekhyun flitting around amongst the leaves and throwing elm seeds at Jongdae, who’s retaliating with the same fervour whilst shouting something about inseminating Baekhyun with tree sperm. Yixing’s sitting with his back to Minseok, eyes closed as he takes a nap. Sehun is seated firmly in his usual throne of Zitao thigh, Zitao’s arms wrapped around his waist.
And Jongin… well, Jongin’s currently hiding behind Joonmyun, trying to make himself seem as small as possible-a difficult feat, considering he’s approximately a head taller and much, much broader than Joonmyun.
“The most important thing is,” Minseok says, waving chopsticks in the air, “Joonmyun now has a Familiar for his graduation exam. This is good news!”
“No thanks to you guys,” Joonmyun mutters, glaring daggers at Minseok and Chanyeol in turn. “I can’t believe you set up that Summoning. Without my knowledge. You know that’s a violation of the Scholomance Code of Conduct, right? I could deduct so many points-”
“Points, schmoints,” Kyungsoo says, rolling his eyes. “You say you’re going to do all that but really, you’re too soft on them, hyung. I knew Chanyeol was up to no good when he was whispering and giggling in the common rooms that night. At first I thought he and Baekhyun were having kinky, indecent sex. Either way I should’ve put a hex on him.”
“I was doing him a favour,” Chanyeol protests, and Baekhyun nods, throwing an elm seed at Kyungsoo, who closes his eyes, pointing at Baekhyun. There’s a flash of green and Baekhyun yelps, suddenly bound to the tree by tendrils of ivy vine.
Joonmyun closes his eyes. To be completely honest, having a Familiar… isn’t as bad as he’d thought it’d be. Jongin had followed him around all of yesterday afternoon, marvelling at the architecture of the old study rooms, nodding furtively when Joonmyun explained to him the history behind Scholomance, the theory of the Five Energies, and taken him to the library to look up some books on the Mage-Familiar bond. Jongin, it seems, enjoys the quiet, and likes reading almost as much as Joonmyun does, a remarkable feat considering Baekhyun probably hasn’t been within a foot of a book in his miserable Faerie life.
“Earth Faerie, is he?” Baekhyun asks, struggling free from Kyungsoo’s vine prison and floating down behind Jongin, who knocks into Joonmyun, then gives a short apology as Baekhyun observes him with a toothy grin. “Hey, Jongin, let’s have a play spar!”
“Hey, hey,” Joonmyun says, slightly alarmed, and a little uneasy. Jongin leans in to him, and Joonmyun gulps as he feels Jongin’s warm skin pressing against his back. “Jongin hasn’t trained with me before. Even I haven’t seen his powers.”
“Then this is the perfect opportunity,” Minseok says, giving Joonmyun an encouraging smile. “It’ll be fine. Yixing, Jongdae, and Sehun can set up a protective barrier. One round only, okay, Baekhyun?”
“Aw, yeah!” Baekhyun trills, pulling Jongin up by the scruff of his gown, and Jongin yelps as he stumbles backwards into the clearing, landing on his butt in the middle of the triangular barrier, which now buzzes with a purple light. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Hyung?” Jongin says, panicked, looking in Joonmyun’s direction. “Hyung, wh-what do I do?”
Joonmyun sighs. “Do you know how to cast spells?”
Jongin wrings his hands together. “Um, simple ones, I guess? I-I never managed to do anything beyond Basics I, though.”
“Just… see how you go, I guess,” Joonmyun says, standing up, walking until he’s right next to the barrier. “Fighting!”
Long story short, Jongin gets his ass fucking thrashed.
“I’m sorry,” Jongin says, biting his lower lip. He’s lying on the infirmary bed, cuts and scratches all over his arms and legs, a huge bruise on his chest from Baekhyun’s concentrated cyclone attack. When Jongin had said he only knew the basics, he really meant it-Jongin couldn’t even take a defensive spirit form to dodge the material attacks. Two shots from Baekhyun, and he was down. “I’m sorry, hyung, I tried, but I couldn’t even land one hit on him-”
“Shush,” Joonmyun says, shaking his head and taking Jongin’s hand in his, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You tried your best, and it’s early days yet. It’ll all come in good time. And plus,” Joonmyun finishes, grinning and puffing out his chest. “You’ve got one of the best Water Mages at Scholomance to help you through it.”
“Really?” Jongin says weakly, gazing up at Joonmyun with hopeful eyes. “You’ll help you me train?”
“Really,” Joonmyun says, voice laden with more conviction than he has. Jongin breaks into a brilliant smile. “I’ve got some free time tomorrow, after my Advanced Yin Energy Handling class. We can do some practise then.”
Jongin nods, a sweet smile gracing his lips, before coughing so hard he almost hacks out a lung. “It’s a date.”
“Ha,” Joonmyun agrees weakly. “Indeed.”
The rumours of Joonmyun’s summoning have spread so far that, by the next day, Joonmyun steps into the dining hall in his Prefectural robes for breakfast only to have all eyes turn to him.
“Joonmyun-sunbaenim,” a kid from second form-Jimin, was it?-says, greeting Joonmyun with a bow. Behind him, two Familiars are hovering, one looking surly, and one with a falsely innocent, inquisitive expression on his face. “Congratulations on your summoning.”
“Thanks, I guess,” Joonmyun says, making his way down the steps. Damn it. This kind of attention isn’t what he needs-too many eyes on him, too many whispers behind his back. It throws him back to the turbulence of first form, when everyone had focused their attention on him, Kim Joonmyun, the Younger Brother, spreading malicious rumours about how he was sure to follow in his brother’s footsteps as well. It hadn’t been until the new professor, Professor Lu, had come to Scholomance and taken Joonmyun under his wing that the speculation had finally stopped and Joonmyun was able to find some calm in his life again.
“So I hear your Familiar got his ass kicked by Baekhyun.” A Prefect from another house, Bobby, if Joonmyun’s memory serves right, stops Joonmyun in his tracks, leaning on the handrail of the stairs. Behind him, Bobby’s Familiar stretches, cracking his knuckles, and Joonmyun heaves a sigh. Not this again. “Grade Five? You bring shame to the title of Prefect.”
“Look, Bobby,” Joonmyun says, trying to sidestep him, but Bobby just slides so Joonmyun’s path is blocked again. “I don’t want to start a fight. Grade One or Grade Five, they’re all the same Familiars.”
“Oh, but you’re such a hot topic,” Bobby says, smirking, before putting his hands up in mock surrender and letting Joonmyun past. “I’ll cut you some slack today. Your Familiar would probably keel over at Hanbin’s breathing alone.”
“That wasn’t very hiphop of him,” Kyungsoo mutters when Joonmyun settles in his seat, running his fingers through his hair. “Hey, hyung, don’t worry about it. He’ll get what’s coming.”
“Yeah,” Minseok says, patting Joonmyun on the back. “It’ll be fine. You’ll train Jongin up in no time and then you can kick his ass.”
By the time Joonmyun finishes his last class of the day, he’s exhausted and almost bursting with irritation at the amount of people who have expressed surprise that his Familiar was ‘only a Grade Five’. They mean well, Joonmyun knows. It’s a compliment to his magic abilities that everyone expected him to summon a Grade One, but also, how would Jongin feel if he heard the harsh words coming out of everyone’s mouths?
Yes, Grade Five was the lowest class of summon there was. Yes, Grade Fives were predominantly only temporary summons, used as bait or traps for high-class battles. They were the invisible creatures of their world. But it doesn’t mean they’re useless. Their sacrifice is what saves the battle, and to Joonmyun, that makes them stronger than anyone else.
“Hey,” Joonmyun says as he helps Jongin sit up at the infirmary. “You feeling better? Ready to train?”
Jongin rubs his eyes sleepily. “Hey, hyung,” he mumbles, breaking into a smile. Joonmyun smiles back, heart slightly eased by Jongin’s presence. The symbol on his wrist shimmers a little brighter. “Let’s go train.”
Joonmyun ends up carrying a passed-out Jongin back to the infirmary not even an hour later.
“What happened?” the nurse asks, waving a blue staff over Jongin’s body, then setting him down on the bed. “He should’ve been all recovered.”
“He was,” Joonmyun explains, rubbing his temples. “But then…”
So maybe Basics II is still a little too advanced for Jongin to handle. Joonmyun had taken Jongin out to the training fields so Jongin could fully unleash his Earth powers, try out an earthbuilding spell, and it’d been going well. Jongin had managed to get the mound of dirt to gather into something that looked like a molehill, but then he’d promptly passed out, and that was the end of that.
“In any case, it doesn’t look like he’s coming to,” the nurse muses. “Joonmyun-sshi, visiting hours are over, so you should head back to the dorms. Come back in the morning and I’m sure he’ll be all recovered again.”
Joonmyun rushes to the infirmary bright and early next morning to be greeted by Kim Jongin’s sheepish smile.
“Hey, hyung,” Jongin says, giving Joonmyun a wave. “Guess last night didn’t go too well, huh?”
Joonmyun gives him a pat on the head as the nurse gives them a scandalised stare. “It’s alright. We’ll try it again tonight.”
They try again, and again, and again.
Day three. Joonmyun takes Jongin back to Basics I. The dirt gathers in a mound. Jongin faints. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
Day five. Jongin’s convinced he can attempt a higher level spell. Joonmyun has him try to gather the leaves of the elm tree with his magical powers. A couple of leaves rustle off the branches and pile themselves up at Joonmyun’s feet before Jongin’s eyes roll back into his head and he faints again. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
Day ten. Well… Joonmyun guesses this is better than any of Jongin’s attempts so far. The earth kind of holds together in a spherical shape. Kind of. For about three seconds. Then it collapses, and Jongin collapses with it, yet again. Joonmyun takes him to the infirmary.
“Hyung,” Jongin says, when Joonmyun comes to fetch him for the umpteenth time. The nurse doesn’t even bother greeting Joonmyun anymore, just waves him in with a grunt-he and Jongin come here so often that this is practically their second home. “Hyung, more training tonight? I can do it, I know I can-”
“Jongin,” Joonmyun starts, gently. Jongin falters, bright expression drooping, as if he can anticipate what’s coming next. “Jongin, I think we should take a break from training. Just-just until I can think of a better approach, hmm?”
“I’m sorry,” Jongin says, after a long silence. He hangs his head, sliding his hand out of Joonmyun’s hand, wringing them together. “Sorry, hyung, I just wanted to get better. Get them to stop saying all the stuff they’ve been saying about you, and about me. I guess-guess I was a failure, huh?”
Joonmyun’s heart lodges in his throat. No. So Jongin had been listening to all the rumours flying about.
He should do something. Take Jongin’s hands in his. Reassure him that nothing’s his fault, that everything will be okay, that Joonmyun doesn’t care, and fuck what anybody else thinks, Jongin is his Familiar, damn it, but his whole body freezes when the tears spill out of Jongin’s eyes, glittery and golden, staining the bedding with pretty patterns.
“It’s…” Joonmyun swallows. He pats Jongin’s back awkwardly, chewing his lower lip. “It’s been a long day, Jongin-ah. Don’t-don’t worry about what they say. Get some rest. I’ll see in you in the morning, hmm?”
Joonmyun turns and walks out of the infirmary, heart sinking in his chest.
Zitao is indignant.
“You just left him there?”
Joonmyun nods, bile rising in his throat. He’s sitting in the house common room, next to the roaring fireplace in his argyle-knit sweater-winter had come early this year, with fierce gales and a horrendous blizzard that had turned the school into a white maze overnight-while Zitao’s curled up in the seat opposite, Sehun perched on his shoulder, and Minseok’s scampering around in the back with Yixing, tidying up the mess Chanyeol had left last night.
“Hyung, I know you’re not used to having a Familiar, and you’re used to being alone, but you really shouldn’t be leaving him alone for so many hours a day. Especially when he’s upset.” Joonmyun hangs his head. He knows he’s hitting all-time lows if spirit Wonder Bread Sehun is chastising him.
“I know, I know, I just-” Joonmyun makes a noise of frustration and casts his gaze to Zitao and Sehun. They look so comfortable next to each other, sitting like that. Honestly, Joonmyun’s never seen Zitao without Sehun hanging around him, either in his spirit form or playing around on the training fields in material form. Sometimes, Joonmyun wonders if they even have to talk to each other to communicate, because they just seem to understand each other so instinctively, so naturally. That’s how strong their bond is, and Joonmyun would be lying if he said he wasn’t envious. “How did you two become so close?”
“Lots of buttsex,” Sehun deadpans, and Joonmyun chokes on his spit.
“Yes, well, that.” Zitao shrugs, looking up at Sehun. “But also, I never trained with him so intensively. I think we just hung out a lot. Took him to my classes and to the dining hall and out to the village on our days off.”
“Also,” Minseok says, coming up to lean on the back of Joonmyun’s seat, “you have to remember, a Familiar is only as powerful as their Mage’s belief.” Minseok turns, giving Yixing a grin, and Yixing grins back, both thumbs up in approval. “Spend some time together with Jongin doing stuff that isn’t training. Strengthen your bond. And then it’ll come, before you know it.”
‘Stuff that isn’t training’, in Kim Joonmyun’s language, equates to either studying in the library, monitoring the hallways, or organising all the junk in his storage locker by colour. Sometimes if he’s really, really bored, he’ll clean his bellybutton lint. Joonmyun thinks harder as he pulls open the door to his locker, staring hard at the leather cover of All You Need To Know About Crocheting. Surely, he can think of something interesting to do with Jongin, to get Jongin’s mood up.
Element golf? Spells scrabble? Quill sharpening?
Realisation dawns upon Joonmyun, and he slams his locker door shut. Magic aside, he’s about as interesting as a rock. A very powerful rock, but still a rock.
“Heya, Prefect,” Chanyeol says, smacking Joonmyun on the butt as he walks past Joonmyun in the lockers, and Joonmyun lets out an indignant yelp before frowning at Chanyeol. Chanyeol tilts his head. “Huh. Where’s Jongin?”
“Infirmary,” Joonmyun mutters, and Baekhyun lets out a little bark of laughter before clapping his delicate Faerie hands over his mouth. “Passed out during training.”
“Like master, like Familiar.” Chanyeol waggles his index finger. “Too much training’s bad, you know. Wears out your Familiar’s Yang energy. And that’s why,” Chanyeol continues, grin on his face. “You need to recharge.”
Before Joonmyun can say anything, Chanyeol loops his arms through Joonmyun’s and pulls him away from the locker. “I heard everything from Zitao. Baekhyun and I are heading to the village later, gonna go grab some energy capsules and see if I can upgrade to a dragon-claw fire staff. Maybe grab some truth candy too. You wanna come along with Jongin?”
“Yeah,” Joonmyun says, taking Chanyeol’s arm and placing it back by Chanyeol’s side, dusting off his robes. “I guess it won’t hurt.”
Jongin’s still lying in the infirmary bed by the time Joonmyun gets there, shuffling nervously on his feet. “Hey,” Joonmyun says, letting out a long breath. “How are you feeling? Better?”
Jongin grins up at Joonmyun. “Now that you’re here,” he says, and a pang of guilt hits Joonmyun.
“I’m sorry about the other day,” Joonmyun says, sitting by Jongin’s side. He worries his lower lip. “I didn’t mean that I’d, I’d given up or anything, you’re my Familiar and I haven’t been treating you right, you know? I put too much pressure on you, especially with what everyone was saying, and I should’ve… I guess I should’ve tried to understand you a little more.”
Jongin’s gazing up at Joonmyun now, eyebrows knitted together in surprised confusion.
“What I’m saying is,” Joonmyun tries to finish off, to stop himself from rambling, “I shouldn’t have made you train so hard. And I’m sorry.”
There’s a kerfuffle, and next thing Joonmyun knows, Jongin’s arms are wrapped around his chest, Jongin’s face buried into the crook of his shoulder, the force almost knocking Joonmyun out of his seat, and he lets out a breathless laugh. They stay like that, Jongin warm in Joonmyun’s arms, Joonmyun patting Jongin’s back, until Jongin pulls away, looking up at Joonmyun with expectant eyes.
“So… No training today?”
“No training today.”
“What do you have planned?”
“Well,” Joonmyun says, grinning. “It’s my day off, and Chanyeol invited me to the village this morning. What say you we head out of the school grounds today?”
Bundled up in Joonmyun’s beanie and scarf and wrapped in one of Joonmyun’s extra-large coats, Jongin looks a little bit like a walking marshmallow.
“I don’t know why you’re in that hideous thing,” Baekhyun says, floating above Jongin’s head and scoffling. They’re walking down the main street of the village, and all the shops have their winter glowlights out, the store pixies and elves out in the streets trying to lure the students into the shops. “You’re waddling like a penguin. Familiars aren’t even meant to feel the cold.”
“Chanyeol,” Joonmyun says pleasantly, turning to Chanyeol. Chanyeol looks away from the shop display of dragon pelts and blinks at Joonmyun. “Tell your brat of a Familiar to stay in his lane and stop harassing my Jongin.”
“Uh.” Chanyeol gives Joonmyun the longest stare. “Wait, say that again?”
“Uh,” Joonmyun says, knitting his eyebrows together. “Can you… Make Baekhyun stop teasing Jongin?”
“No, no,” Chanyeol says, waving his mittened hands in front of his face. His lips quirk up into a devilish grin. “You said my. My Jongin.”
Joonmyun feels a flush heating up his cheeks as Jongin turns to look at him. “Yeah, he’s… My Familiar, right? Yeah. My Familiar, Jongin. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing,” Chanyeol singsongs, giving Joonmyun a gentle shove so that he falls into Jongin’s side, having to grab onto Jongin’s arm to regain his balance. “I’m just, um, gonna go check if my staff’s done, y’know, gotta pick it up. You two have fun!” With a flick of his wand, Chanyeol conjures up a flaming carpet, then hops on.
“Yeah, you two, have fun. Hey, Joonmyun, suggestion, take him to the Faerie store.” Baekhyun’s perched on Chanyeol’s shoulder, and he shoots the both of them a wicked grin before Chanyeol’s off, zooming away into the distance.
“Well,” Joonmyun starts awkwardly, brushing the show off his coat. He extends a gloved hand, and Jongin hesitates for a moment before grinning and sliding his hand in Joonmyun’s. “To the Faerie store?”
The lights and decorations inside the shop is something Joonmyun, in his seven years of being a Mage, has never seen before. Granted, it’s the first time he’s ever set foot inside this particular store, but all the same, it’s a breathtaking sight. Dreamcatchers, potions, energy holders, herbal remedies of shapes and sizes are spread throughout the store, divided by energy type. Jongin runs straight to the Earth section, like an excited puppy seeing snow for the first time, marvelling over the divination equipment and ginseng roots and wooden summon totems.
“Do you like that?” Joonmyun says, sidling up to Jongin. Jongin jumps a little, running his fingers over a wooden pendant, thin leather straps wound through the hole. “It’s a power pendant. It’s meant to draw Earth spirit from your surroundings and transfer it to your inner energy source.”
“Do you think it’ll help? I mean, help me get stronger?” Jongin asks, thumb tracing over the intricate design, and Joonmyun laughs.
“Well, they’re only superstitious beliefs. All the actually strong stuff is back inside the school grounds, locked away in staff-only storage. The stuff they sell in the village, apart from the medicinal ingredients and weapons, are mostly for display.”
“Oh.” Jongin looks a little crestfallen. “Okay. I guess it won’t be any use, then.”
“Come here.” Joonmyun takes the pendant from Jongin’s hands, then undoes the twine, reaching around Jongin’s neck and fastening it into a knot at the back. “There. Looks good on you.”
Jongin looks down at the triangle hanging from his neck, fingertips tracing over the surface. “Really? You’ll get it for me?”
Joonmyun sets both hands on Jongin’s shoulders. “Anything you like, I’ll get for you. You’re my Familiar, Jongin. Your happiness is my happiness.”
The walk back to school grounds is quiet, but comfortable. Jongin’s almost skipping beside Joonmyun, one hand in Joonmyun’s, one hand still on the pendant, admiring it.
“Well,” Joonmyun says, when they finally arrive in front of the dorm building, “that was fun.”
“It was,” Jongin says, grinning up at Joonmyun. “Take me again when you’re free.”
“Yeah.” The snow’s picking up again, grey clouds coming in from the east, and it looks like there might be another snowstorm soon. “Let’s head back to the dorms. I haven’t taken you to mine yet, have I?” Jongin shakes his head, and Joonmyun smiles. “I’ll show you today. Make a space for a spare bed in my room so you can sleep next to me.”
“Really?” Jongin’s eyes are wide, and he can barely contain his excitement. “You’ll do that for me?”
There’s a hot flash on Joonmyun’s wrist, and he winces, raising his arm to inspect it, before Jongin’s voice rings out.
“Hyung,” Jongin says, mouth agape. He’s staring at the ground in front of himself, holding his wrist where the Mage-Familiar symbol is burned into his skin. “Hyung, look!”
In front of Jongin is a perfect little blossom, a sproutling reaching its way out of the snowy earth and to the sun. Joonmyun watches in awe as the sproutling grows, grows bigger and bigger, until it’s a full-sized cherry blossom tree, shedding pink petals in the wintry air like confetti.
“You did it,” Joonmyun breathes, and before he knows it, he’s gathered Jongin into his arms in a warm hug. Jongin lets out a yelp of surprise before settling into Joonmyun’s arms. “Jongin, you did it!”
“I guess I did, huh?” Jongin says, voice muffled by Joonmyun’s puffy jacket, and Joonmyun just laughs giddily in response.
part two